GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We got through a lot of work today. People have to remember that today is our test day because we didn’t get to run on Wednesday so we’re really a day behind everybody here. Obviously the track is pretty similar because the times are very similar to what they were on the test day. Unfortunately we’re just trying to come from behind a little bit here. It’s extremely competitive. With three minutes to go in the session I was ninth fastest and I ended up 18th. Obviously we have a bit of time to find to close the gap but we’re going to keep working on it here.”

FAST FACTS: Will be his sixth Indy car race here but first for his father’s Indy car team. He has competed in many other series at his “home track.” In 2012 he qualified 22nd, started 21st (engine penalty ahead on grid) and finished 11th with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing (SCCGR). In 2011 he qualified sixth, stalled in the pits after his first stop and finished 24th with SCCGR. In 2010, he qualified 25th with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR) and had moved up to 14th when he attempted to pass Wheldon for 13th on Lap 61/85 in T2 and went off course and dropped to 21st. Finished 20th. In 2009, he started fourth with NHLR and looked likely to finish fourth before an off-track excursion while fifth late in the race led to an eighth place finish. In 2008, he started 14th with NHLR and ran as high as eighth, but an off track excursion on lap 53 limited him to a 16th place finish. At the age of 16 in 2005, he became the youngest to claim the SCCA National Formula Atlantic championship at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs here by a dominant 43-seconds. He also competed in the Star Mazda race here in 2005 (S/F 4/9). Tested a Grand Am car here in 2007… His best finish this season is second place in Long Beach and best start is 11th also in Long Beach… Is ranked 17th in series standings with 221 points.

JAMES JAKES, No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “This morning was quite difficult. We were just trying to dial the car in really. We were slightly competitive in the test on Wednesday but we weren’t quite where we wanted to be so we were trying to make improvements and I think we have made some today. It doesn’t look well on the time sheets but we know what we’ve got underneath us. We still can make a few improvements but I’m pretty confident of getting in the top-10 and work from there. The session doesn’t really correlate to where we are competitive-wise. You’ve just got to be patient and work on it tomorrow.”

FAST FACTS: Will be his third event here and first with RLL. In 2012 he qualified 21st, started 20th after a competitor ahead was penalized for an unapproved engine change and finished 19th. In 2011 he qualified 24th and finished 23rd. Both events were with Dale Coyne Racing… His best series start to date is 2nd at Dual 2 in Detroit and best finish is 2nd also at Dual 2 in Detroit… Is ranked 18th in series standings with 215 points.

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT MID-OHIO… The Honda Indy 200 will mark the 16th Indy car event for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) here. The team also competed in the Atlantic Series race in 2003 with Danica Patrick and has competed in ALMS races here in 2007 and from 2009-2012. The highest IndyCar finish for the team here is two third place finishes (Rahal 1997, 1998) and the highest start is pole (Herta 1997). Another front row start came in 1999 (Herta; 2nd). Prior to the 2013 event, the team prepared a total of 24 Indy car entries for drivers Bobby Rahal (1992-98), Mike Groff (1994), Raul Boesel (1995), Bryan Herta (1996-99), Max Papis (1999-2001), Jimmy Vasser (2002), Michel Jourdain Jr. (2002-03) Ryan Hunter-Reay (2007-2008) and Takuma Sato (2012). The team has earned TWO podiums (3rd – Rahal 1997, 1998), 9 top-five’s and 13 top-10 finishes at the track. The No. 15 Midas / Big O Tires entry for Graham Rahal and No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts entry for James Jakes will bring the Indy car total to 26 entries in 2013.

NEXT UP: The final practice will take place from 10:30-11:15 a.m. ET tomorrow and qualifying will be 2:00-3:10 p.m. NBC Sports Network will air a qualifying recap at 5 p.m. ET Saturday, August 3. The 90-lap Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will take the Green Flag at 3:40 p.m. ET on Sunday and will be televised live on NBC Sports Network at 3:00. Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com.